Mamushi

'Sadako'

I charge down the stairs, smashing through the door at the bottom.

When I say that, you might get an idea in your head of what me bursting out of school might look like. Rather than a little chubby kid struggling because the door is actually a bit heavy and stiff, you might imagine a tall, dashing, unrealistically muscled teenager, his jacket adorned with badges and flying open in defiance of Kuroike Junior High School uniform regulations, bandana trailing in the wind, a look of grim determination chiselled on his face. Kou Nakamura, rebel without a cause. If that's how you'd like to imagine me, be my guest. All I need is to find an alternative backstory as to why I get nicknamed 'BB-8'.

Nestled against the side of the building is a little pond, surrounded by a stone wall. The school turtles laze around on rocks in the pool, completely ignoring my school bag, which half floats in the water, having been dropped from the second floor balcony by Katou. A couple of notepads obviously fell out on the way down and managed to save themselves by landing outside the pond. The rest, still inside, will now be thoroughly soaked.

Hey, there's a plus point though. Being about the only kid in the school to actually follow the 'no phones' rule has actually paid off! Had I snuck it into my bag with me, it would have been wrecked by now. See? I knew teenage rebellion wasn't worth it. Kou Nakamura, obedient passive student with a cause, at least gets that small victory.

The turtles watch me with lazy indifference as I lean over the pond and start to fish out my bag and books. I'm going to have to come up with a good story for why I'm drying all this stuff out on the washing line at home. The last thing I need is for Mum and Dad to realise their son is being bullied. They would rush to school at once, overflowing with concern and rage, and amplify the problem several times over.

As I'm tipping the water out of my bag, I hear the rapid footsteps behind me and realise that I've fallen into an obvious trap. When Katou ambushed me coming out of Shogi Club, he'd been accompanied by only one leering henchman, when he usually had at least a couple. Where was Nishikawa, his usual number two? Apparently, down here all along, waiting in position. Whatever these guys lack in book smarts, I have to admit that when it comes to coordinating attack strategies, they're really not that bad.

Knowing what's coming while having crap reflexes is just torture. There's this huge gulf of time filled with nothing but grim inevitability. Then yes, there it is - the foot connecting with my buttocks. Luckily not too painful, though it doesn't have to be. I'm already in a precarious position, leaning over the pond, and the little push is enough to send me plunging forward.

The turtles just watch. I always thought of them as kind of soulmates, but evidently this was one-sided. Doing nothing to help, they just watch.

Splash.

And I'm in the water. Nishikawa is laughing his head off. Katou and his other crony - a guy so devoid of individuality that I don't even think of him as having a name - are there, joining in the fun. And those books that managed to escape the pond? Yep, they're being thrown in after me now. Destruction complete.

Still howling with laughter, Katou, Nishikawa and Generic Teenage Bully scamper away, leaving me to fish myself and my belongings out of the turtle pond. Once the predators are out of sight, I notice that Eiji and Takuma have emerged from the school with expressions of concern. Now that the danger of them being targeted themselves has passed, they help me to collect the last of my saturated possessions.

'You OK?' Eiji asks, because asking is the done thing.

'Yeah, sure,' I reply. 'Lucky it's summer. I'll dry off in no time.' This isn't strictly true, as the thirty seven degree temperature here is southern Japan is accompanied by an eighty percent humidity, which more or less ensures that drying off never really happens.